Personal produce case

ABSTRACT

As the government and healthcare providers encourage the increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, individuals are confronted with the challenge of obtaining their recommended daily amounts despite busy schedules. It is often inconvenient, unhygienic, or not feasible to tote single pieces of produce around for consumption during the day. The Produce Case is a hollow, flexible, and deformable case with an inner cavity and an adjustable closure mechanism, which allows clean and hassle-free transport of individual pieces of produce.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As the government and healthcare providers encourage people to eat more fruit and vegetables, individuals are confronted with the challenge of finding easy ways of consuming these foods. People may buy produce to eat at home, but often it is not convenient, hygienic or feasible to take a single fruit or vegetable on the road, to work, to school, to the park, to the playground, or wherever.

An apple, for instance, can be a great snack However, if you take it along when you leave home and put it directly loose in your bag, it quickly becomes bruised, dirty, and otherwise less appetizing by the time you wish to eat it. In addition, if you choose to wash your apple at home, to eat elsewhere or on the road, it does not stay clean and so you must rewash it somewhere else when you want to eat it—or eat it dirty. In an era when we are so concerned about bacteria and pesticides, it is important to wash produce before consumption, and the Produce Case encourages and facilitates this practice. It is in essence a second skin for the produce.

You might try to wrap your fruit or vegetable with foil or plastic wrap, but then you still risk that your keys, pens or other items slice into that outer layer and damage the item. These thin outer layers do not really protect your individual produce and they come off easily. A zip-locking plastic bag might be more protective and stay sealed, however, in an era of environmental consciousness, the foil, plastic wrap or plastic bags are thrown away after their use, whereas the Produce Case is reusable. This reuse of the Produce Case thus also provides a financial benefit—as you are not continually and repeatedly purchasing more foils or plastic wraps or plastic bags.

The other alternative, when seeking to transport individual produce, is to use a rigid or inflexible container made from material such as plastic or metal. While this would protect the fruit or vegetable, when you are finished eating, you are left with an empty container that takes up space despite being empty. On the contrary, the Produce Case is completely malleable and therefore takes up very little space once it is emptied. It can be rolled or stuffed into a jacket or purse pocket or flattened into a thin space between books in a knapsack. It is exceedingly lightweight and, thus, once the produce is eaten there is very little to transport.

Finally, when necessary, the Produce Case can be washed in soapy water or placed in the top rack of the dishwasher. It is easily cleaned and sanitized for future use. It will not lose its shape, and will not tear when exposed to heat or cold.

The Produce Case is an appealing and useful option for carrying around individual produce. It can be made available in all sorts of colors, and can bear printed text or images or logos. As an example, fun cartoon images or simple bright colors can make eating an apple more fun and appetizing to children. Also, the exterior surface of the Produce Case can have ridges for ease of handling, or can be smooth for an aesthetically clean look. It also can contain a surface available for writing a child's name or a message. Due to the flexible and elastic nature of the Produce Case, it can accommodate fruits and vegetables of all shapes and sizes.

The U.S. government has encouraged people to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. It has also counseled that eating those 5 servings or more can help fight heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and certain cancers. Healthier eating can also help in the fight against the growing obesity epidemic.

In an era in which people are regularly moving around all day, the Produce Case makes fruits and vegetables portable. When a lack of feasibility and ease provides so many disincentives for eating and snacking healthfully, the Produce Case can help reverse that trend. The Produce Case makes good nutrition and health a lot simpler.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As discussed above, there are many important reasons for using the Produce Case when taking an individual piece of produce out of the home. The Produce Case is simple, clean, and easy to use. It can be manufactured using elastomers or plastics that are now standard and readily available on the market, and it has very few components. The Produce Case addresses a common problem with a simple solution.

In general, the Produce Case comprises a hollow, flexible, deformable member having a continuous wall; and an opening formed in the wall of said member through which the produce is inserted into the opening of said member. The member can be in any geometric shape such as a hollow sphere, rectangle, football-shape, oval, or other.

In one embodiment, the flexible and deformable hollow member is in the form of a sphere. The walls of the opening would extend to form two flaps which could be brought together to dose said member using a closure mechanism.

In another embodiment, the flexible and deformable hollow member is in the form of an opened oblong sphere such that the two parts of the sphere are joined along part of the circumference. The two parts of the said member overlap significantly when encasing the fruit. They are wrapped around the produce one after the other.

In still another embodiment, the flexible and deformable hollow member is in the form of a sphere with a continuous wall and an opening formed in said wall in the shape of a neck The neck may have a closure mechanism on or around said wall for closing the cavity inside said member.

In further embodiment, the flexible and deformable hollow member is in the form of a sphere with a continuous wall and-an opening formed in said wall. On one side of the opening, the continuous wall extends to become a flap that can be stretched over the opening and attached to said member by means of a closure mechanism.

In still a further embodiment, the flexible and deformable hollow member is in the form of a rectangle with an opening on one end, which can be closed by means of a closure mechanism.

In yet a further embodiment, the flexible and deformable hollow member is in the form of a sphere, with a thin, linear opening that is just covered by a lip protruding from the continuous wall of said member. The opening is not closed by any closure mechanism.

Conventional methods and techniques known to those skilled in the art can be used to mold the flexible, hollow Produce Case using commercially available food grade plastic materials and elastomers such as latexes, polyethylenes, polysulfones, polyurethanes, silicones and the like.

Conventional methods and techniques known to those skilled in the art can also be used to be add the closure mechanism to the Produce Case, using commercially available closures such as zippers, buttons, snaps, zip-locking closures, hook and loop closures, and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The preferred embodiment of the Produce Case is illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical view in cross section of the device having a geometric configuration in the form of a sphere and a closure mechanism in the form of three snaps.

Additional embodiments of the Produce Case are also illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 2 is a vertical view in cross section of the device having an oblong shape partially open at its circumference and without any closure mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a vertical view in cross section of the device having a geometric configuration in the form of a sphere with a protruding neck and having an elastic band wrapped around said neck.

FIG. 4 is a vertical view in cross section of the device having a geometric configuration in the form of a sphere with a protruding flap which would cover opening and affix itself to said sphere with a hook and loop closure mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING AND THE INVENTION

The Produce Case will become more apparent from the ensuing description when considered together with the accompanying drawing wherein like reference numerals denote like parts.

The Produce Case illustrated in FIG. 1 has a geometric configuration in the form of a sphere. 1. The walls of the sphere extend to form two flaps 3 that surround said opening 2 where the produce is inserted into the spherical body 1. These two flaps 3 can then be brought together to close said opening 2 using a closure mechanism such as snaps 4.

In FIG. 2, the Produce Case is shown having a geometric configuration in the form of an oblong sphere, with a partial opening 2 along the circumference of said oblong sphere. The Produce Case in FIG. 2 is comprised of two hollow parts: a smaller part S and a larger part 6. The produce is first inserted in the smaller part 5 and then the larger part 6 is pulled around the produce in the smaller part 5 to encase the produce. The resulting pocket effect holds the produce in its casing without needing a closure mechanism.

In FIG. 3, the Produce Case is shown having a geometric configuration in the form of a sphere 1. The walls of the sphere extend upwards while narrowing to an opening 2 in the form of a narrow neck 8. Said neck 8 would be stretched open to insert the produce. Once the produce was inserted in the opening 2, an elastic band 7 would be wrapped around the neck 8 to form a closure.

FIG. 4, illustrates an embodiment of the Produce Case with a geometric configuration in the form of a sphere 1. The sphere has an opening at the top 2. One wall of the said sphere 1 would extend beyond the opening 2 to form a flap 9 large enough to cover beyond the opening 2. The flap 9 would have a closure mechanism, such as a hook and loop system 10, which would allow the produce to be inserted via the opening 2 and then securely enclosed by means of the flap 9 and the hook and loop closure mechanism 10.

Although the Produce Case has been described in some detail and with particularity, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. 

1. A case for receiving produce comprising: a hollow, flexible, and deformable member having a continuous wall and being substantially spherical and an opening in said wall through which a piece of produce can be inserted into the body of said member.
 2. The case of claim 1 wherein fastening means are distributed along the opposing edge margins of said opening.
 3. The case of claim 2 wherein said fastening means comprise longitudinally extended pressure responsive mechanical interconnections.
 4. The case of claim 2 wherein said fastening means comprise a zipper.
 5. The case of claim 2 wherein said fastening means comprise one or more buttons and button holes or loops disposed along opposing edge margins.
 6. The case of claim 2 wherein said fastening means comprise one or more snaps.
 7. The case of claim 1 wherein the opposing edge margins of said opening are sized to fit within one another and slideable with respect to one another.
 8. The case of claim 1 wherein one edge margin of said opening can be drawn over opposing edge margin and fastened at a remote location.
 9. The case of claim 8 wherein said fastening means comprises a zipper, pressure responsive mechanical interconnectors, or one or more buttons and button holes.
 10. A case for receiving produce comprising: a flexible and deformable member having a continuous wall and fastening means distributed along the edge margins to allow the containment of produce.
 11. The case of claim 10 wherein said fastening means comprise longitudinally extended pressure responsive mechanical interconnections.
 12. The case of claim 10 wherein said fastening means comprise a zipper.
 13. The case of claim 10 wherein said fastening means comprise one or more buttons and button holes or loops disposed along opposing edge margins.
 14. The case of claim 10 wherein said fastening means comprise one or more snaps.
 15. A case for receiving produce comprising: a hollow, flexible, and deformable member having a continuous wall and having a geometric configuration, a neck portion extending upward from said member, and an opening formed on the upper end of said neck portion.
 16. The case of claim 15 wherein a fastening means is disposed at the bottom end of said neck portion.
 17. The case of claim 16 wherein said fastening means comprises a rubber band permanently attached to one point of the outside surface of said neck portion.
 18. The case of claim 16 wherein said fastening means comprises a cord, the midpoint of which is permanently attached to one point of the outside surface of said neck portion.
 19. The case of claims 1, 10, or 16 wherein said case is formed of a food-safe polymer.
 20. The case of claims 1, 10, or 16 wherein said case is formed of food-safe silicone. 